STATE OF MICHIGAN

98TH LEGISLATURE

REGULAR SESSION OF 2015

Introduced by Rep. Lyons

ENROLLED HOUSE BILL No. 4596

AN ACT to amend 1976 PA 388, entitled “An act to regulate political activity; to regulate campaign financing; to restrict campaign contributions and expenditures; to require campaign statements and reports; to regulate anonymous contributions; to regulate campaign advertising and literature; to provide for segregated funds for political purposes; to provide for the use of public funds for political purposes; to create certain funds; to provide for reversion, retention, or refunding of unexpended balances in certain funds; to require other statements and reports; to regulate acceptance of certain gifts, payments, and reimbursements; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain state departments and state and local officials and employees; to provide appropriations; to prescribe penalties and provide remedies; and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts,” by amending section 24 (MCL 169.224), as amended by 1999 PA 237.

The People of the State of Michigan enact:

Sec. 24. (1) A committee shall file a statement of organization with the filing officials designated in section 36 to receive the committee’s campaign statements. A statement of organization shall be filed within 10 days after a committee is formed. A filing official shall maintain a statement of organization filed by a committee until 5 years after the official date of the committee’s dissolution. A person who fails to file a statement of organization required by this subsection shall pay a late filing fee of $10.00 for each business day the statement remains not filed in violation of this subsection. The late filing fee shall not exceed $300.00. A person who violates this subsection by failing to file for more than 30 days after a statement of organization is required to be filed is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than $1,000.00.

(2) The statement of organization required by subsection (1) shall include the following information:

(a) The name, street address, and if available, the telephone number of the committee. If a committee is a candidate committee, the committee name shall include the first and last name of the candidate. A committee address may be the home address of the candidate or treasurer of the committee.

(b) The name, street address, and if available, the telephone number of the treasurer or other individual designated as responsible for the committee’s record keeping, report preparation, or report filing.

(c) The name and address of the financial institution in which the official committee depository is or is intended to be located, and the name and address of each financial institution in which a secondary depository is or is intended to be located.

(d) The full name of the office being sought by, including district number or jurisdiction, and the county residence of each candidate supported or opposed by the committee.

(e) A brief statement identifying the substance of each ballot question supported or opposed by the committee. If the ballot question supported or opposed by the committee is not statewide, the committee shall identify the county in which the greatest number of registered voters eligible to vote on the ballot question reside.

(f) Identification of the committee as a candidate committee, political party committee, independent committee, political committee, or ballot question committee if it is identifiable as such a committee.

(3) An independent committee or political committee shall include in the name of the committee the name of the person or persons that sponsor the committee, if any, or with whom the committee is affiliated. A person, other than an individual or a committee, sponsors or is affiliated with an independent committee or political committee if that person establishes, directs, controls, or financially supports the administration of the committee. For the purposes of this subsection, a person does not financially support the administration of a committee by merely making a contribution to the committee.

(4) If any of the information required in a statement of organization is changed, the committee shall file an amendment when the next campaign statement is required to be filed. An independent committee or political committee whose name does not include the name of the person or persons that sponsor the committee or with whom the committee is affiliated as required by subsection (3) shall file an amendment to the committee’s statement of organization not later than the date the next campaign statement is required to be filed after April 1, 1995.

(5) When filing a statement of organization, a committee, other than an independent committee, a political committee, or a political party committee, may indicate in a written statement signed by the treasurer of the committee that the committee does not expect for each election to receive an amount in excess of $1,000.00 or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00. The treasurer of a committee of an incumbent judge or justice is considered to have made the statement required under this subsection following appointment or election of that judge or justice and is not required to file a written statement under this subsection indicating that the committee does not expect for each election to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00.

(6) When filing a statement of organization, an independent committee, a political committee, or a political party committee may indicate in a written statement signed by the treasurer of the committee that the committee does not expect in a calendar year to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00.

(7) Upon the dissolution of a committee, the committee shall file a statement indicating dissolution with the filing officials with whom the committee’s statement of organization was filed. Dissolution of a committee shall be accomplished pursuant to rules promulgated by the secretary of state under the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24.201 to 24.328.

(8) A candidate committee that files a written statement under subsection (5) or that is considered to have made a statement under subsection (5) is not required to file a dissolution statement under subsection (7) if the committee failed to receive or expend an amount in excess of $1,000.00 and 1 of the following applies:

(a) The candidate was defeated in an election and has no outstanding campaign debts or assets.

(b) The candidate vacates an elective office and has no outstanding campaign debts or assets.

Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days after the date it is enacted into law.

Enacting section 2. This amendatory act does not take effect unless House Bill No. 4597 of the 98th Legislature is enacted into law.

This act is ordered to take immediate effect.

Clerk of the House of Representatives

Secretary of the Senate

Approved

Governor